The SEC recently – and predictably – rejected a Respondents’ arguments challenging the constitutionality of the agency’s administrative forum. The September 17 Timbervest decision was the first of the constitutional...more
The SEC has announced a series of proposed changes to the Rules of Practice governing its internal enforcement actions. The changes update the decade-old Rules and respond in small part to a groundswell of criticism about the...more
A week after OCIE announced it would conduct a second round of cyber-security exams, the Commission emphasized the issue by bringing an enforcement action against a non-custodial investment-adviser over a remediated data...more
9/25/2015
/ Breach Notification Rule ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Free Identity Theft Protection ,
Hackers ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIFMA
Two rulings last week ordered the SEC to stop administrative proceedings in two cases, pending the Second Circuit’s ruling on the constitutionality of its administrative forum. The Second Circuit stayed the SEC’s prosecution...more
An SEC administrative law judge (“ALJ”) found that former Wells Fargo trader Joseph Ruggieri traded on material nonpublic information tipped him by former analyst Greg Bolan, but dismissed the insider-trading charges against...more
9/16/2015
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appointments Clause ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Due Process ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Personal Benefit ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Seventh Amendment ,
Tippees ,
Wells Fargo
United States Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates issued a September 9 memo directing increased focus on individual culpability in matters of corporate wrongdoing. The memo highlights six policy directives – some existing,...more
9/14/2015
/ Corporate Fines ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FBI ,
KPMG ,
Sanctions ,
Upjohn Warnings ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Willful Misconduct
In an August 18 letter to SEC Enforcement Director Ceresney, the National Society for Compliance Professionals (“NSCP”) urged the SEC to adopt an internal guideline requiring a higher “aiding and abetting” standard for...more
The first Court of Appeals to rule in the recent round of challenges to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s administrative enforcement mechanism has held courts lack authority to consider the matter. The US Seventh...more
Last week the US Chamber of Commerce, through its Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, issued a white paper proposing wide-ranging changes to the SEC’s enforcement process. Most of the 28 recommendations were...more
In mid-June, SEC Commissioner Gallagher issued a strongly-worded public dissent from two enforcement actions against investment-adviser CCOs, accusing the Commission of “cutting off its nose to spite its face” by punishing...more
SEC Administrative Law Judge Grimes dismissed administrative charges against an investment adviser and its principals for allegedly failing to disclose material conflicts of interest in its Form ADV and willfully filing false...more
In a strongly-worded public statement last week, SEC Commissioner Gallagher chided the Commission for “cutting off the noses of CCO’s to spite its face.” Explaining his dissent in two recent enforcement actions imposing...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s disciplinary appellate body (the National Adjudicatory Council or NAC) has revised the Sanction Guidelines used to determine penalties in enforcement cases. The revisions increase...more
Not April Fool’s for one public-company registrant, as the SEC filed its first settled action today over corporate confidentiality provisions that run afoul of Dodd-Frank whistleblower protections. The clause in question was...more
Addressing SIFMA’s Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) conference Wednesday, SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney said that – when it comes to AML – the lack of red flags itself is a red flag....more
In an address Friday at the 44th annual “SEC Speaks” conference, SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar suggested that the Securities Exchange Commission might do well to apply its own rules to itself. He suggested the Commission...more
On February 3, the Department of Justice and 19 State Attorneys General announced their $1.375 Billion settlement of DOJ’s FIRREA suit and related State AG actions against Standard & Poor’s and its parent McGraw-Hill...more
On January 29, the Commission dismissed its insider-trading suit against Canadian analyst Jordan Peixoto in connection with his purchase of puts on the stock of Herbalife in advance of a negative hedge fund presentation on...more
Earlier this month, the SEC used a “control-person” charge in a settled action against an elected municipal official in connection with municipal bond offering. Enforcement touted that “first” on the Monday after: “An...more
The SEC last week approved new MSRB Rule G-44 implementing supervision and compliance requirements for municipal advisors. The MSRB touted the Rule as “its first dedicated rule for municipal advisors” under the Dodd-Frank...more
The drumbeats of discontent grow louder against the SEC’s more frequent use of its internal administrative forum for enforcement cases. I wrote about the current spate of Constitutional challenges to the agency’s forum in an...more
Responding to industry complaints, the SEC’s Enforcement Division modified its Municipal Continuing-Disclosure Cooperation (“MCDC”) Initiative to (a) extend the deadline for issuer disclosures until December 1 (from September...more
I recently wrote about Judge Rakoff’s refusal to enter the SEC’s proposed consent decree in SEC v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., 827 F. Supp. 2d 328 (SDNY 2011) – and the shift in SEC enforcement policy that it prompted. ...more
6/5/2014
/ Chevron Deference ,
Citigroup ,
Consent Decrees ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Judge Rakoff ,
Risk Management ,
SEC v Citigroup ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement
This past February, FINRA issued an acceptance, waiver and consent (“AWC”) against a firm and its global anti-money laundering (“AML”) Compliance Officer (“CO”) for failures in AML compliance regarding brokerage and custodial...more